If you just let go and scream, it´s a lot more fun...

So day one in Cochabamba is coming to a close. We are all staying in a hotel until Saturday, when we will move in with our homestay families, where we will be for three months for the duration of training in Cochabamba. We left Miami last night at 11:15 and arrived in Bolivia this morning around 5:30. After a long layover in La Paz, we hopped about a half hour flight to Cochabamba. Needless to say, we were wiped out and spent most of the day sleeping. We had about 3 hours of introductory sessions before current Peace Corps Volunteers in Bolivia came to the hotel and took us all on a quick tour of the city and to a place for dinner. They have proved to be an invaluble resource for all of our questions. Some have been here only a couple of months, others are getting closer to finishing their tour soon. They were extremely eager to share information and we were extremely eager to hear it. It was really great to meet folks that have been here for a while and can really relate to what we are feeling.

The best way to describe the past couple of days is a roller coaster. Coping with saying goodbye to everyone I love coupled with the excitement of the adventure upon which I am about to embark has caused me to be constantly up and down. When we talk about how good it´s going to feel to help people and how much they are going to appreciate it, I get really excited and remember why I wanted to go and know I made the right choice. But then we start talking about some of the times which are not so great and the things that can go wrong and I start to think ´´why on earth am I here? why did I choose to do this?´´ And the thought came across my mind to cut and run off the jetway as we boarded the plane to South America. Luckily, these were all fleeting thoughts and the good has begun to far outweigh the bad. Which is exactly opposite of what I was feeling Monday morning. But now I´m actually here...it´s kind of unbelieveable. For over a year I´ve been saying I¨m going to join the Peace Corps...andfor the past couple of months I have been saying I´m going to Bolivia. But now I´m actually here and it´s an odd feeling.

All in all, it´s all good. Once I embraced the roller coaster of emotions instead of being afraid of it, everything became easier.

Check back soon to hear about my family I will meet on Saturday. Until then, peace be the journey.

Ben

p.s. emails are incredibly nice to recieve while I´m here. I´ll do my best to answer all I recieve, but it´s comforting to read news of friends and family, however tiny...